


I'll be good

by Skrios



Series: The Shattered Ones [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Omnic Crisis, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-24 21:30:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13819824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skrios/pseuds/Skrios
Summary: Jack and Gabriel barely escape the Omnics attacking the SEP.  Wounded, they're rescued by the army and asked to join Overwatch to end the war.  Between new friendships and growing feelings for his former partner and best friend, Jack will have to make difficult choices and question himself if he wants to survive the war.





	1. Running away

            The explosion sent me flying into the nearest wall.  A cracking noise resonated through the hallway and hoped it was the wall and not my back.  But the blinding pain suddenly radiating from my spine into the rest of my body told me I may be wrong.  I blinked a few times, spinning slowly on myself and little black dots danced in my vision field.  My head was throbbing and I could taste blood on my tongue.  My whole body was hurting, but I willed my hands to push me upward, pain so great I had to stifle screams during the whole process.  But I finally stood on my feet, trembling from head to toes, and tried to focus on something else, anything that would make me forget the pain.

            Smoke was everywhere, fire burning, sweat running down my forehead, mixing with blood.  My eyes took in my surroundings, trying to remember where I was exactly.  White walls, double-ironed doors, medical supplies thrown all over the place, cables hanging from the ceiling, and bodies on the floor, three of them, totally still.  They were wearing white doctor coats that had become red.

            Everything hit me like a slap.  I was in the medical ward.  The Omnics.  They had invaded the complex.  We had been sent there to help the ones working there to evacuate, get as much on the researches as we could gather and destroy the rest.  But it was already too late when we came in.  Bastion units were already there.  Alice had thrown a grenade into the hallway as we spotted them, but before we could close the door, a Bastion had shot the grenade and it had exploded, sending us backward, scattering us.  Where were the others now?

            Rubble crumbled on my left and I turned quickly, drew my gun, my body rebelling against the movement and I couldn’t stop a grunt.  My heart was racing in my chest as the metallic sound of a Bastion unit rising echoed, its single red “eye” glowing in the dark hallway.  In the midst of the chaos that surrounded us, he fitted just right.  I swallowed.

            Slowly, like it had all the time in the world, it turned toward me and raised his gun arm.  I tried to shoot at it, but the bullets bounced of his armor harmlessly.  Its gun loaded itself, ready to fire.  I closed my eyes, sure my time had come when a hand gripped my left shoulder and yanked me through the crumbled wall next to me.  I could only growl in pain before hitting something hot and softer than a wall.  I opened my eyes to see Gabriel right in front of me, his dark face painted red, a cut in his eyebrow leaking a good amount of blood, blood already drying on his beard, making it shine slightly.  He had bruises all over his arms and as he took a step back to look at me, he was limping a bit.

            The Bastion started moving on the other side, and without a word we ran.  Alice and Rey joined us quickly, coming from sideways doors and we all ran for the stairs at the end of the corridor.  I didn’t dare look behind me so I focused on the back of Gabriel, trying to think about something else than the protests of my body.  It was one of the perks of the SEP.  I could stand more pain than a normal person, run faster, carry more, and punch harder.  But it didn’t protect me much against pain.  Any sort of pain.

            We were almost to the stairs when bullets started whistling over our heads.  I ducked low, my body rebelling violently and I had to bit my tongue to keep running, my hand over my head as we flew over the stairs to the top.

            Everyone stopped abruptly and I bumped into Gabriel, pain spreading in waves in my chest.  Broken ribs, certainly.

            “What are you waiting for Gabe?”  I yelled, panic in my voice.  “They’re gaining ground!”

            “The door is closed.  I can’t find my pass!”  He yelled back, angrily.

            I grunted and pushed him aside, taking my own pass from my pocket and sliding it into the lock next to the door.  The door opened slowly.  Too slow.  Metallic footsteps shook the stairs and clicking noises filled the tensed silence that had grown since the door began opening.  This wasn’t good.  They were killing machines.  They wouldn’t hesitate a second to shoot us.  I wanted to throw myself at the door, but I wasn’t sure I would survive it right now.

            “They’re coming!”  Alice told us.  “Move it!”

            “I can’t!”  I replied, trembling, barely standing up on my feet.  I looked sideways at Gabriel and he looked me up and down.  I don’t know why, but I felt suddenly shy.

            “You can barely stand up.”  He said in an almost calm voice.

            I wanted to roll my eyes at him.  But before I could react, he was passing my arm over his shoulders and took my hand in his.  I tried to protest, but gave up, knowing him too well to try and reason with him.  He moved forward and I almost fell before turning toward the now opened door.  When we had all passed, Rey rolled another grenade on the ground, closing the door at the same time.  We took a few steps back, waiting to hear the explosion.

            After three seconds, a rumble shook the room we were in, a cloud of dust falling over us.  We coughed, protecting our eyes and mouth, my vision darkening for a second before clearing.

            “We need to keep moving.”  Rey shouted.  “We’re far from safe yet.”

            He was right and we ran for the other end of the room.  There was no window and no ornaments here, only white walls, like everywhere in the medical ward.  People didn’t come here for fun.

            The next door slid open and Alice glanced in the hallway for any threat.  She told us silently it was all clear.  We moved silently through the whole medical ward toward the main entrance, stopping at every angle, listening to every sound, and jumping whenever we would find a body, machine or human.  I tried not to look at it, but some kind of morbid curiosity forced me to.  The humans were bloody, holes in their chest or head, brain splattered everywhere, mixing with the now drying blood.  The machines were as damaged as the humans, body parts thrown all over the place.  Alice and Rey had drown their pistols, but it wouldn’t be much effect on Bastions.  I had had a firsthand experience.

            We finally got to the main entrance and what was awaiting us outside was only chaos and war.  Omnics and humans were fighting everywhere, the sound of guns filling my ears, the smell of smoke and blood on my tongue.  Gabriel grunted and as I looked at him, I saw beads of sweat streaming down his face, his teeth gritted, his face a mask of silent pain.  My heart skipped a beat and I pushed myself away from him, my legs trembling to steady me and the pain in my back pulsating.

            “What are you doing Jack?!”  Gabriel yelled.

            “You’ll clearly not make it if you keep lifting me like that.  Let me take care of myself.”  I replied, my voice quavering.

            “Don’t be stupid Jackie.  You clearly can’t take care of yourself right now.”

            “Stop babysitting me, Gabe!”  I said, my hands clenching into fists.  “You can’t always protect me.  I can…”

            “For fuck’s sake, Jack, keep your teenage rebellion for another time.  Right now isn’t the time.”

            “I’m not…”

            “EVERYONE DOWN!” Screamed Rey as a bright light lit the whole world.

            Gabriel jumped on me and forced me on the floor, shielding me with his body.  I closed my eyes, putting my hands over my head, gritting my teeth, feeling the blast of the explosion passing over our joined bodies.

            When I felt Gabriel relax a bit, I opened my eyes and looked around.  It was an apocalypse scenario.  The whole world was on fire.  Gabriel was still on top of me and my back was starting to hurt from his weight.  I grunted and the next second, Gabriel was hauling me up, checking on me like a mother and I suddenly lost any will to thank him for anything.  Most of the time, he would do this to piss me off, but I could see the worry in his eyes and the tension in his jaw.  I didn’t know if he was just worried about the chaos around us or for me.  Maybe both.  Rey and Alice were getting up too.  Visibly, they survived the explosion.

            The top of the entrance to the medical ward had been ripped off in the explosion and a big hole had been carved into the field.  People and robots alike were recovering from the blast, trying to understand what just happened, most of them still confused.  A lot stayed down.  The sound of engines came for up and I lifted my eyes, only to be greeted by an entire fleet of military aircrafts circling an enormous plane with its belly open.

            “What are they doing?”  Asked Rey.

            “They’re making sure the Omnics doesn’t get the data.”  Gabriel replied coldly.

            He was right.  It was hopeless.  There were too many Omnics here to fend them off.  The only solution was to erase every trace of what happened there.  We were just collateral damage.  We weren’t that important to them.  I had a bitter taste in my mouth.  We were disposable.  We didn’t count.

            “We need to get the fuck out of…”  Started Alice, before stopping abruptly, her eyes widening, her mouth gaping open.

            She coughed and blood spilled on her shirt and on the ground at her feet.  A heat sword was coming out of her chest.  She gasped for air as the sword drew back, and she fell on the ground, suddenly limp.  I looked up and saw a humanoid Omnic standing behind her, the sword in its hand, readying itself for another attack.  Its eyes were pitch black and I couldn’t tell if it was conscious of what it was doing, or if there was even any kind of conscience in it.

            “NOOO!”  Screamed Rey, making a move to get to Alice, but before he could make more than a step, the Omnic drew a gun and shot him.  Right between the eyes.

            Rey fell next to Alice, a pool of blood spreading from under their bodies.  I couldn’t move, frozen in place.  It wasn’t happening.  It couldn’t.  They couldn’t die.  We were supposed to save the world together.  We were supposed to be heroes.  They couldn’t go like that.  Like nobodies.  Before they had accomplished anything.

            There was a war cry next to me, a shadow passed next to me and jumped on the Omnic, toppling him over.  Gabriel and the robot rolled one or two times before Gabriel, ending up on top, drew his gun and shot the robot between the eyes.  There was a spark and the robot stood still.

            I glanced at what just happened, my mind still trying to process it, my vision blurring at the edges.  I couldn’t believe they were dead.  It wasn’t supposed to be that way.  I took my head in my hands and my legs would have given up on me if Gabriel didn’t catch me and yelled my name.  I wanted to scream, to wake Rey and Alice up.  They were only sleeping.  I had seen many death during my years in the army, but I still had difficulties accepting it.  It was still unbearable.

            “Jack!  Jack!  Don’t look!  Don’t look!  Keep moving!”  He shouted.  “We gotta get out of that hellhole before they throw another bomb!”

            My mind went in autopilot mode and Gabriel lead me through the chaos, making me crouch, run, and dodge.  The pain in my body was gone, or I couldn’t feel it anymore.  I didn’t know which one.  I was numb to everything except Gabe’s voice, encouraging, pushing me to follow him.  I barely noticed he had grabbed my hand.  He was my lifeline, the only thing that kept me going right now.

            By some kind miracle, we got to the heliport where the last helicopters were about to fly off, taking everything they could with them.  Gabriel yelled at them, a gun fired from behind, and he stopped as he fell to the ground, a small hole carved in his chest, just above the heart.

            I snapped back into my body and turned, drawing my gun, ignoring my body’s outcry of pain, and shot at another humanoid on our left.  They weren’t as protected and resistant as the Bastion.  I picked Gabe up from the ground, my whole body becoming a big ball of pure pain, my teeth gritted so hard I thought they were going to break.  I screamed to the men at the heliport.  They were soldiers like us.  They should help us.  They wouldn’t let us die here.  I limped toward them, Gabriel on my back.

            They finally noticed us and two of them ran to us.  I almost sighed of relief, but the pain was still omnipresent.  One of them took Gabriel from me and I tried to grab his hand, but it slipped from mine.  The other helped me toward the helicopter and almost threw me on the deck.  I grunted and turned to take one last look at the apocalypse taking place in the field, before the pain in my body was too great and I passed out.

*****

            My dreams were agitated, full of blood, smoke and fire, people dying, piling up under my feet, creating a mountain of corpses taking me up toward a dark red sky.  _Look at what you’ve done Jack_ , said a corpse, a woman I didn’t know, with beautiful long blond hair, smeared with spots of dark blood, one of her eyes hanging from its socket.  I screamed as an arm grabbed my leg, then another, and suddenly a million, taking me down into the sea of bodies.  I fought and fought, trying to grab something, anything that would slow my descent, but it was useless.  I couldn’t fight Death.  I was suffocating, unable to breathe and I gasped for air before my vision blurred and I made a last attempt at crawling up before giving up.

            My eyes flew open and I was blinded by a white light that seemed to come from everywhere at once.  I could hear voices, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying, my mind still foggy, working too slowly to catch any meanings behind the words.  I tried to talk but my throat was so dry every breath was a challenge.  I lifted my hand a few inches before it fell back on a soft material that was certainly a bed mattress.  The voices became louder as the world came into focus and my ears adjusted.  I was in a white bare room, in a hospital bed, three persons in long white coats around me, watching me, then at a monitor next to the bed and then back at me.  They took my temperature, my pressure, looked at my heartrate and did other tests, taking samples of my blood and other fluids, all of it while talking to each other, giving numbers and other indications.

            When they were done, they gave me some water and left me alone with my thoughts.  They didn’t say a word the whole time.  I could swear the woman of the group smile apologetically at me as they left the room.

            Where was I?  There was no window in the room, no posters on the walls, and no signs of where I could be.  I tried to sit up, but my arm gave up on me and I fell back on the pillow.  A bunch of cables and bandages were connecting me to the machines on each side of the bed.  I passed my hand over it, gritting my teeth every time I touched a wound or something broken.  And there were a lot of them.  Even the healing serum we were injected in the SEP wasn’t enough to heal me on its own. 

            It suddenly dawned on me.  Gabriel.  If I was in that state, what was his?  Was he even still alive?  Was he awake?  What was happening to him?  I wanted to get up, tried to and fell miserably on the cold hard floor, snapping a few cables in the process.  The monitor started screaming and I tried to get up on my feet when the door to my room slid open silently and the three doctors rushed in the room, cursing about soldiers and their lack of self-preservation.  They put me back in my bed, with much grunting and cursing.  I was in no shape to fight back.

            “Where am I?”  I croaked.  “What happened to my partner?”

            The three doctors looked at each other and nodded to one another before the youngest one, the woman, visibly around her thirties, blond with deep blue eyes, looked right at me and smiled.  A kind smile that warmed my hurt body.  A mother’s smile.

            “You were brought in last night alongside many other soldiers.”  She said with a German accent.  Her eyes darkened.  “Some of them didn’t made it to see the dawn.”  Her voice broke.

            I looked at her, desperate to hear more.  My heart was pounding in my chest, ready to explode.  Was I the only survivor of our group?  Did Gabriel died too?  I wasn’t sure I could stand it right now.

            “Please.  Tell me.  His name is Gabriel.”  I pleaded

            Her face lit up and her smile was back on her face, but sadness was still visible in her eyes.  Like a darkness she couldn’t get rid of.

            “He’s alive.  Thanks to you, we could operate him in time and extract the bullet successfully.  He woke up a few hours ago.  He’s readying himself for the meeting.”

            “Which meeting?”  I asked, my relief almost tangible.

            “In the UN quarters.”

            “UN quarters?”  I asked again.

            She was about to answer me when the two other men gripped her shoulders and shook their head.  She closed her mouth and smiled apologetically to me.  They told me someone was going to come visit me soon and they left.

*****

            I must have fallen asleep because someone shook my shoulder gently when I opened my eyes.  A man in his fifties, presumably, streaks of grey hair mixing with light brown ones on his head was sitting next to my bed.  Wrinkles moved up and down his forehead and cheeks as he smiled to me.  His grey eyes seemed tired and he was wearing a black suit with a flashy green tie. 

            “Who are you?”  I asked, my voice still weak.

            “Good morning to you too Jack.”  The man said, his voice soothing.  I blushed from my rudeness.  “My name is Mark Willow.”

            “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know you.”  I didn’t want to be rude, but there were so many questions I had to ask and so many answers I needed.  “And by the way, how do you know my name?”

            “I’m a member of the UN.  As to how I know your name, it’s written on the door.”  His eyes glinted playfully.

            “What happened after we left the complex?  Was the base destroyed?  How did the Omnics found us? Why…”  My mind was racing, trying to find everything I needed to know right here right now.  Not knowing was making me imagine worst case scenarios.

            “So many questions.”  He interrupted me.  “Mr. Reyes didn’t ask so much questions when I came to him.”

            “You want us to do something for the UN.”  I said blankly, putting some of the pieces together.  The woman had mentioned the UN.  If we had been saved by them, that’s because we could be useful.  In my life, I learned that nobody did anything by pure kindness or selfless intentions.

            “And you’re smart.”  The man continued.  “Exactly what we need right now.  You’re right, I’m here because the UN needs you.”

            “What could the UN want to do with me?”

            “You were in the SEP.  You know what that means.”

            “I was preparing to fight the Omnics.”

            “Exactly.  Since the beginning of the conflict, the countries created many programs to create soldiers capable of fighting the robots.  The SEP was one of them.  I think that’s why they attacked your complex.  They wanted to stop the program, to find a way to destroy what we were creating.  But look at you.  You and Mr. Reyes are the results of all those researches and experimentations.  And you’re both alive and operational.”  I couldn’t help but notice he talked about us like he would talk about pets.  He was smiling, like he had no worries in the world.

            “There were more of us.”  I murmured, but it seemed like he heard it.

            “And I’m sorry for your loss.”  He added.  He didn’t seem sorry at all.  “But we all have to move forward.  The sake of our civilization is at stake and we need every resource we can get.  The UN decided to create a project of its own, mixing all the others to form a strike team able to lead us to victory.  Bringing an unconventional war to them.”

            “And you want me to be a part of it.”

            “Exactly.  Join us.  To make the future of mankind bright again.”

            “And what is this strike team?”

            “Its name is Overwatch.”


	2. New Team

            Three hours later, I could stand up and I had been given a military suit, a mix of light and dark blue, with a name tag on the heart.  I also had a blue beret.  I put all this on and walked out the door as the doctors were telling me to be careful, not to overdo it.  I hoped I wouldn’t have to.

            It wasn’t only a hospital.  The whole place was a UN military base.  It seemed brand new, still clean and as I passed many windows. The snow was falling heavy outside and I could barely decipher the borders of the facility, but it seemed huge.  I passed hallways upon hallways, and I would have lost myself if I didn’t meet soldiers and other officials on my way, who gave me directions.  Many answered politely and went on their way, but others looked at me funny, eyeing the white and yellow symbol on my vest.  I guessed it was the symbol of our strike team.  I finally found what they had called “the Conference Room 5”.  It was at the end of a hallway, in the main building, at the end of a row of identical door, with only a name next to it.

            I pushed the button and the door slid open, revealing a room with window panels all around, giving an impressive view on the whole complex below.  There wasn’t many light coming in from the outside, but there were neon lights in the ceiling, casting shadows over the people gathered around a round table standing in the center of the room.  There was a young woman sitting on the left, close to the door, with long black hair cascading on her muscular shoulders.  Her skin was tanned and she had a tattoo under her left eye.  It was three lines parting from her eyes and diverging, curving at the edges, drawing a symbol I didn’t know.  She wore a suit the same color as mine, but hers was less slimy, with a coat and her beret was seating sideway on her head.  She was smiling to a giant next to her, with blond hair and a scar on his left eye, which was hidden by a black patch.  He had a blond goatee, and his blue suit made all the muscles in his body visible and I couldn’t believe a human body could have so many.  He was speaking so loud I thought the windows were going to shatter.

            Three seats farther from them, so small I almost missed him, was a little man, with blond hair and beard and a grumpy look in his eyes.  He looked like a baby Viking.  And it was not cute.  He was sitting in silence, scanning everyone and he was the first to notice me.  Two chairs next to him was seated another man, with long black hair tied back in a strict ponytail, his eyes slightly narrowed, and his uniform showing a slim figure, but muscled and well balanced.  He sat straight in his chair, chin high, arms crossed over his chest.  His beret was put on the table in front of him,

            Finally, I spotted Gabriel, seated on the right side, opposing the giant and the woman, arms crossed, his eyes dark, his face unreadable.  I could see his fingers tapping on his arm, his body moving slightly up and down as he certainly moved his leg under the table.  From time to time, his nose was twitching.  As they all noticed my arrival, they turned toward me.

            “Welcome.”  Said the woman with an eastern accent, as she rose from her seat, her smile warm.  “You must be Jack.”  She took my hand in hers and shook it.  “Pleased to meet you.  I am Ana Amari, from the Egyptian Forces.”

            “Pleased to meet you too.”  I replied, smiling back at her.  It hurt my jaw but I did it anyway.  They didn’t have to know what I went through.  It was quite weird for me.  I just saw my partners die in front of me and a few days later, I met a smiling lady, looking like she would offer me some tea or something.

            “And I am Reinhardt Wilhelm!”  Shouted the giant.  “German Crusader.”  He added as he hit me on the shoulder with his big hand, almost crushing me.  I stifled a cry.

            “Careful Reinhardt.”  Snapped Ana.  “He’s still recovering.”

            “Oops.  Sorry.”  Reinhardt said, smiling broadly.  I wasn’t sure he meant it but it didn’t really matter.

            I turned to the two others and they politely declined their identities, though they didn’t move from their seats.  The little man was named Torbjörn and the other’s name was Liao.  From Sweden and China respectively.

            Finally, I turned to Gabe and I caught him inspecting me, his face still unreadable, but, his whole body twitching, like he was waiting for someone to jump at him at any moment.  I felt my throat tighten and I straightened, gripping my vest in my hand.  Gabe had a pretty good intuition most of the times.

            I went to seat right next to him.  I suddenly felt compelled to take his hand in mine, but I resisted the urge.  I didn’t know how he would react and it was a bit childish.  I wasn’t at ease, but that didn’t mean I had to run to him for protection.  I could protect myself.

            I suddenly heard the door open and a man and woman entered.  The man was Mark Willow, who introduced me to the whole project.  He smiled to all of us as he took his place right in front of the door.  The woman had a dark skin, with curly hair cut short bouncing up and down her shoulders, her black suit following every curve in her body.  She sat next to Mr. Willow and took out a pad and a digipen. 

            “Well.”  Willow clapped his hands.  “I see everyone’s here.  Good, good.”  He fumbled through his papers, before turning back to us, putting a small pile of papers in front of him.  “As you all already know, you were recruited to become part of a strike team called Overwatch.  You are the elite of your countries, the best of the best and your goal will be to lead mankind to victory in our war against that machines.”

            “I told you it would end like this.”  Torbjörn interrupted.  “I told you years ago.”

            “Yes, yes, we know, Mr. Lindholm.  We should have listened to you.”  Continued Willow, lifting his hands.  “But it’s too late now and we need a solution.  Please, sign those papers.  It’s a contract making you an official part of the Overwatch team.”

            Lindholm.  Lindholm.  That name was ringing a bell.  I had heard this name before.  That’s it!  Torbjörn Lindholm!  The inventor!  The man behind the first Omnics and the Titan project.  It was that little man?  I must have stared at him too long because he turned to me, visibly irritated, giving me a look and I quickly focused my attention back to Willow.

            Willow passed the papers to me and I took one before giving the rest to Gabriel.  It passed around until everyone had one.  We read the conditions and rules of the contract.  I didn’t see anything suspicious.  We were given a room and access to the facility, for us and our families, in exchange for giving our lives for the ‘greater good’ visibly.  I watched Gabriel sign the contract and I did the same before handing the sheets back to Willow.

            “Anyway.  I want you to meet Gabrielle Adawe.  She is the UN’s Under-Secretary-General.  She is one of the persons behind the Overwatch’s project and will be your supervisor.  I’ll let her give you the details.”

            “Thanks Willow.”  The woman said coldly, turning to us.  “You’re here for a reason.  You are humanity’s last hope to stop the Omnics.  With your combined forces, we may have a chance to survive this.”  For a second, she looked at Torbjörn before turning back to scan the room.  “You will receive a special training here until we see fit to let you go on the battlefield.  Until then, you will remain in this facility.”

            “But…”  Started Reinhardt, straightening.  “Frau Adawe.  We already trained for years to become who we are now.  Why would we need more training?”  He burst into laughter, but no one joined him.  After a moment, he seemed to realize nobody would laugh and he stopped, looking at Adawe.

            “You may be a good soldier on your own, Mr. Wilhelm, but you’re going to work as a team.  I heard your last partnership didn’t end that well.”  As she said the words, she looked right at him, daggers in her eyes.

            Reinhardt became pale, his face draining of color and I saw his eyes drop to the floor.  There was a moment of complete and utter silence.  I didn’t know what happened with his last partner, but guessing from the look on his face, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.  I turned my eyes back to Adawe.  I wasn’t sure I liked that woman much.

            She was stared at us, making sure we all got the message.  She wasn’t here to be our friend.  I felt myself shiver, but not from cold.  I could see in her eyes we weren’t proper human beings.  Just tools she was ready to use to do her job.  I swallowed.

            “Your training will begin tomorrow morning at eight sharp.  You’ve been given separate rooms in the West Wing.”  She took badges from her purse and gave one to each of us.  “Here are your badges.  With these, you can access most of the facility.  As I won’t come with you on your missions, we nominated Gabriel Reyes…”  She paused, pointing at him.  “As your Strike Commander.  If you have a reclamation, or a report to do, you’ll have to go to him and he’ll then contact us.”

            Everybody looked at him for a second before Adawe adjourned the meeting.  Willow, who had been silent since she started talking, stood up awkwardly and walked out the door, asking the two soldiers outside of the room to lead us to our quarters.  We all rose at the same time and followed the soldiers.  I stayed behind for Gabriel to follow me, but he just walked past me.

            They took us to the West Wing, a side building composed mainly of the soldiers’ quarters, as well as a gym, shower rooms and a living room.  They saluted us formally before going back to their post.  We all stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to say to each other.

            “See you tomorrow, then.”  I finally said, forcing a smile on my face.  I patted Gabe’s shoulder, to tell him to come with me and he did, visibly glad we could avoid the awkward silence.  We would have enough time to get to know each other later.

            When we got to the room with my name on it, I stopped and turned to Gabe.  He didn’t even look at me and walked past and I had to catch his arm for him to finally look at me.  His face was dark, his lips pressed in a thin line.  He frowned and I could see his gaze wandering everywhere but on me.

            “A new adventure, huh?”  I said, my voice betraying my discomfort.  I didn’t know what was happening to him.  Last time I saw him, he was more protective of me than my mother.  He almost gave his life for mine.  And now he was avoiding me, like I had herpes.  What happened?

            “Don’t act like that with me Jackie.  I don’t buy your Golden Boy bullshit, you know that.”  He snapped, gritting his teeth.  My shoulders sacked a bit and I sighed.

            “So I’ll be direct.”  I said abruptly, the warm feeling in my stomach back again.  “Why are you acting like this?”

            “Acting like what?”  He asked, but he already knew the answer.

            “Gabe…”  I pleaded, trying to reach him with my hand, but he backed away.  My heart ached.  What was happening?

            “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jack.”

            He turned his back on me and started walking away.  I wanted to stop him, to call him, but I stayed quiet, standing there in the hallway for a moment, not really knowing what I should or could do.  Something was clearly bothering him and I had absolutely no clue as to what it was.

            I turned and punched my door, opening it accidentally, revealing a small room with a bed pushed against the left wall, with a closet at its feet.  A small desk stood under a window in the opposing wall.  The room was dark, and I shivered slightly as I took in the place I would live for God knows how long.  It didn’t really send a good vibe.

            I didn’t feel like staying in my room right now, so I decided to take a walk, wandering aimlessly in the complex, passing through grey corridors after grey corridors, trying to memorize the location, to find the exits, the good hiding spots, the shortcuts and everything I could exploit during an attack, anything to keep me busy.  It had become a habit since I joined the army.

            After a moment, I found a small indoor ‘balcony’, with plants hanging from the glass ceiling, glass panels covering the entirety of the walls, and entered.  It was quiet and I liked that.  I think I needed some alone time.  But a chair rattled against the floor and I turned quickly, only to find Ana, sitting in a chair by the left side.  She looked at me and smiled, but her smile wasn’t as warm as the previous one.  I could feel she was tired and drained.  Something was bothering her too.

            “Jack.”  She said.  “I see we both had the same idea.”

            “I can leave you if you…”

            “Not at all.”  She said gently.  “I think some company would be appreciated.  Dark thoughts are the worst to be left alone with.”

            Without questioning, I took another chair and came to sit next to her.  We both watched as the snow fell outside.  It was unsettling, after all the combat and action I had to live through, to see so much calm and peace.  Ana seemed fascinated by the snow and I saw in her face, for a second, the face of a child, eyes gleaming with delight and amazement, her mouth slightly open in awe.  I couldn’t stifle a laugh and she came back to her senses staring at me, her smile a bit brighter this time.

            “I never saw snowfall like that one, you know.”  She said after a moment.  “In Egypt, we don’t get many snowfall.”

            “I can’t say that I have seen such as this one either.  I’m from Indiana.”

            “Where are your parents, Jack?”  She said abruptly.  The question took me by surprise and it took me a few seconds to put my thoughts back together.  I decided to tell her the truth.

            “Hum…They are still in Indiana, taking care of the farm.”

            She sighed and I swear I saw a tear falling down her cheek.  It was only a moment, though.  I gazed around, not really knowing what to do or say.  The happiness we felt a moment ago had vanished as fast as it had come.  Thinking about my parents made me melancholic.  It was bringing back old memories of a land bathed in sunlight, fields after fields of corn and cereals, cows grazing in their paddock and horses whinnying in the stables.

            “I’m sorry.”  She said.

            “Sorry for what?”  I replied, snapping back to the present.

            “I must be terrible company right now.”

            “No, no, no.  Don’t say that.”

            “I hoped she could have a life away from all of this.  I guess it’s too late now.”

            “Who?”  I asked, trying to get her to open up.  It seemed that something was worrying her.  If we were supposed to be a team, it would be a good thing to be there when others needed me.  And I was feeling some connection with her.  She seemed a lot like me.

            “Fareeha.  My daughter.”  She said, her voice cracking on the name.

            “You have a daughter?”  I asked too loud, surprised anyone would want to birth a child during this war.

            “Yes.  She is six years old.”  Her eyes softened at the thought.  I felt bad for her.  Her daughter had been born three years before the war.  “She came with me here.  The UN promised to take care of her.  It’s the safest place for her right now.”

            I nodded.  I couldn’t possibly imagine what those three years had been for her.  She must have had a really hard time since the war began.  The Omnics were relentless in their attacks, and they didn’t need to sleep, or at least we never saw them resting.  I pictured Ana, on the field, doing her job, but always thinking about her baby at home, waiting for her, not sure if she was going to see her again, or if the Omnics hadn’t destroyed her home and killed her child.  It would have driven me mad.  But there she was, smiling at everybody, acting like nothing special happened.  I suddenly felt a great sense of respect for that woman.

            “That’s why you’re here.” I thought aloud.  “You’re fighting for her.”

            “Yes.”  She replied.  “I want her to have a brighter future, away from war.  I’m willing to sacrifice myself for that.”

            Without thinking, I drew closer to her, taking her hands in mine.  They were full of calluses and cuts, but warm.  I looked her right in the eyes, making sure she was looking at me.  I took a deep breath.

            “We’re here for that, no?”  I said.  “All of us.  We’re here to make sure everyone can have a future.  A better future.  We’ll make the world a better place for your daughter.”

            I smiled at her, flashing my brightest smile, and she smiled back.  A tear rolled on her chin, but she didn’t wipe it.  She pressed her hands harder together inside mine.

            “You’re right.  Let’s save the world.”

*

            The next day, I woke up at dawn, or at least that’s what the clock next to my bed said.  Outside, snow had stopped falling, but the sky was still grey.  I put on the combat clothes I had been given.  A blue ocean t-shirt with the Overwatch logo on it, as well as a pair of fatigue pants, and a pair of combat boots.  I looked at my reflection in the mirror, passed a hand in my messy blond hair, trying to create a semblance of order.  When I was finally satisfied with the result, I stormed out.

            I made my way toward the cafeteria, trying not to get lost.  I had memorized where it was yesterday, but I still had to make adjustments one or two times before finally arriving there.  The place was almost empty.  It was still early.  I took a plate, grabbed some orange juice and two pieces of bread and went to seat at an empty table.  I could see the soldiers already there staring at me, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of admiration, disgust, fear, or something else.  I straightened in my seat and ate in silence, sometimes looking up only to see the same people staring in my direction.

            People started pouring in the cafeteria in waves, soldiers talking to each other, or still trying to wake up, shoulders low, circles under their eyes.  One after another, the other Overwatch members came in and every time, they were greeted by a sea of eyes staring at them, like they were a freak show.  But they all did like they didn’t notice.  Gabriel was the first to come in and he sat a little farther from me, but at the same table.  My chest tightened, but I acted like it wasn’t bothering me.

            Reinhardt was the next to come in.  Everyone made way for him as he walked toward our little table, smiling broadly like it was the best day of his life, his head rising from the sea of people in his way.  He sat next to me and started talking about the program and the complex, explaining what he knew and what he had seen yesterday.  I listened to him and tried my best to take interest to what he was saying, but my attention kept slipping toward Gabriel, brooding over his breakfast. 

            Ana and Torbjörn came in after a moment, talking to each other.  Ana smiled to me and I smiled back, feeling the weight in my chest lighting a bit.  Liao joined us soon after, silent and grumpy, a perfect copy of Gabriel.  We ate and discussed, and it was like I was back in the SEP.  I could almost see Alice and Rey seating with us, cracking jokes.  Alice would tell us about her strange dreams, Rey would mock her and she would pout.  He would then proceed to poke her gently in the ribs and she would stick out her tongue to him.  We would all burst into laughter and it would be the perfect start for a day of training.  But they weren’t there.  They would never be.

            Reinhardt, Ana and Torbjörn were talking on my left, while Liao and Gabriel were as silent as tombstones on my right.  I clenched my fist under the table and, glancing at Gabriel, I wanted to smack him right here right now.  I inhaled sharply and forced myself to relax.  He certainly had his reasons to act like a dumbass.  He had to get good reasons.  He used to be funnier, mocking me, teasing me, and the Gabriel I was seeing now was a stranger.

            After breakfast, we all stood up in unison, everyone glaring at us, some even whispering, and walked out.  A soldier was waiting outside and told us he was going to escort us to the VR lab.  I supposed VR was for “virtual reality”.  We followed him in silence, everyone probably trying to guess what we were going to do there.

            The soldier opened the door to a big room with computers purring all around.  People were all over the place, talking to one another, tapping on keyboards, cursing under their breath.  Papers were scattered on desks and the smell of sweat floated around.

            “Good morning everyone.”  Said a woman in a grey top a bit too small for her strong stature.  “I will be your instructor for the next month.  My name is Laura Arlington.  As Gabrielle Adawe certainly told you yesterday, you’ll be trained to become the perfect strike team.  Today, we’ll see how you can work together in a hostile environment.  We’ll then improve what needs improving and change what needs to be changed, and erase what needs to be erased.”

            I felt like I had heard those lines, or something similar, somewhere, but I couldn’t decide when or where.  It surely wasn’t very important.  I turned my attention back to the woman as she led us to a side room, with six seats in two rows of three.  Each seat had a helmet hanging from an arm and it seemed that each was connected to the computers in the other room.  The floor was strewn with cables.

            “You’ll enter a mission simulation.  Your goal will be, obviously, to succeed.  But you’ll all be in the same simulation.  You’ll need to work together in order to finish the test.  We took samples yesterday and used the results to program the simulation so that it reproduces your physical capacities.  Take the seat with your name on it and wait for the technicians to plug you in.”

            Obediently, we each took our seats and I found myself between Liao and Gabriel in the second row.  A soldier came to me and put the helmet on me, putting patches on my arms and chest, checking cables and connections.  The feeling was cold and I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding in my chest.  I had to succeed.  At any cost.  Just as I was closing my eyes, I felt a hand brush against mine.  For a crazy second, I thought it was Gabriel wanting to take my hand.  But the contact faded quickly.  It may have been an accident.  Maybe it wasn’t even Gabriel.

            When I opened my eyes again, we were all regrouped in a little warehouse, weapons on the shelves around us, a table with a holomap in the center, showing us the area as well as little red dots I assumed where the enemies, and blue dots, for our allies.  A patch of them were regrouped in a building.  Us.  I could hear guns firing and shouts outside.

            “Your mission is to find the hostages and get them all out of the area without them being harmed more than they already are.  You all have heat scans.  The hostages are held captive in the main building just outside the warehouse.  Good luck.”  Screeched a voice in my ear.

            We were all wearing uniforms, with a pistol in our belt and a knife.  Gabriel had his signature double shotguns, Reinhardt was wearing a blue crusader armor as well as an enormous hammer, Torbjörn a blue armor, with a robotic left arm and a gun in his right hand, a hammer hanging from his belt.  Liao had two belts crossing on his chest, full of gadgets like throwing knives, grenades and more, and, finally, Ana had a Kinamura rifle.  As for me, I had a pulse rifle like the ones we used to train with in the SEP.

            “So…”  I started, turning to Gabriel.  He was supposed to be our Strike Commander.  Maybe he had an idea.

            “We’re gonna split.”  Gabriel said, showing the holomap on the table, his voice cold and distant.  “Reinhardt, Torbjörn and Jack, you go front.  Drag the enemies’ attention.  Ana, find a good spot and watch over them.  I’ll go with Liao from the side.”  He showed the fire exit of the building.  “We need to be as discreet as possible.  If they find out what we’re doing, they’ll certainly blow up the building or at least kill the hostages.”

            He seemed confident and everyone nodded, except Liao, who was looking at his stuff, like he didn’t care.  I was about to reprimand him when Gabriel yelled “Go”.  Liao followed him to the left exit and I followed Reinhardt and Torbjörn through the main one.  Outside, chaos reigned, fire burning here and there, bodies piling up in the streets, people running around aimlessly, civilians screaming, and children calling for their parents. Amidst the chaos, Omnics and soldiers were firing at each other, but it was clear the soldiers weren’t trained or equipped to face Bastion units.  I stopped as a little girl passed me, screaming for her mother.

            “Come on, boy.”  Yelled Torbjörn.  “We have a task to do.”

            “But…”  I said.  “The civilians…We should help them.”

            “It’s not our job.”  Replied the little man.  “Let the soldiers do their job and…”

            “You distract the Omnics.  I’ll help the soldiers.  We’re supposed to save mankind, aren’t we?”

            “No!”  I heard Torbjörn shout, but I was already gone.

            I couldn’t let those people die.  The soldiers couldn’t contain all those Omnics on their own.  I ran to the little girl and took her hand, asking her to stay with me, that I would help her find her mom.  There was a metallic noise behind me and I turned as quickly as I could, aimed at the Bastion and pressed the trigger, shooting the robot right in the face.  It fell to the side and its head rolled a little farther.  I couldn’t stay.  I had to find a place to hide that little girl.  I turned to fight another Bastion unit.  And another.  And another.  There were too many of them.  It was desperate.

            “Jack, get down!” I heard someone yell in my ear and I obeyed instantly, throwing myself at the ground, pushing the little girl with me as I heard a bullet pass over my head and destroy a Bastion.  I stood up right after and turned toward the nearest building, only to see a beam of light from a sniper glass.

            “Thanks Ana.”  I said in the intercom.

_“_ Go back to the others Jack.  I’ll take care of the civilians.”  She replied.  I took the little girl in my arms and ran toward the building where Ana was hiding.  I turned to the girl and told her to run to the stairs and climb until she found a woman.  She would help her.

            “Why the fuck aren’t you with Reinhardt, Jack?!”  Yelled Gabriel in my ear.  I gritted my teeth.  “Go back to your position, right now, idiot!”

            I ran toward the main building, an enhancement industry.  I found Torbjörn and Reinhardt, Torbjörn deploying a little turret while Reinhardt was shielding them both.  I placed myself next to them, behind Reinhardt’s shield and tried to shoot at every robot I could see around the perimeter.  It was like a never-ending sea of robots, pouring out of the building and the side alleys.  Torbjörn’s turret finally started shooting and he took out his pistol, trying to shoot at the Bastions, but it wasn’t that effective.  Reinhardt was keeping his shield up, but I could see cracks beginning to form in it.  It wouldn’t last long.

            “I’ll need to recharge the shield’s power.”  Reinhardt yelled at us over the sound of the battle.

            “We’ll be fine.  Do what you have to.”  Torbjörn replied.  “That boy has guts.  I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”  He added, looking at me.

            “Commander, you’re too slow.  I’ll go clear the path ahead, join me when you can.”  I heard Liao say suddenly.

            “No, Liao, stay here!”  Gabriel yelled.

            I heard him curse under his breath.  It was bad.  His plan wasn’t going the way he wanted.  Looked like he would need some help

            “I’ll go help him.”  I said to the two others.

            “Go.”  Shouted Reinhardt.  “Looks like you’re not the only fool in this team.”

            I didn’t react to the remark and ran into the building, taking down two Bastions on the way.  The hall was destroyed, marble spread all around, columns standing up against all odds, fire alarms blaring, water pouring from the ceiling.  I used my heat scan to search for Gabriel’s and Liao’s heat signature.  They were on the second level.  I could also see three other heat signatures sitting in a room on the third.  It had to be the hostages.  They were surrounded by a few other heat signatures.  There were also some in the staircase

            A Bastion appeared on my left and before it could turn into turret mode, I shot right at him, destroying his arms and exploding its head.  I kept running for the stairs and started climbing up toward the second floor.  I didn’t meet many Omnics, taking down the few that crossed my path, but right before I opened the door to the second floor, I was thrown back in the staircase by a humanoid Omnic.

            He had a knife and tried to stab me with it.  He was in bad shape, one of his arms missing, his jaw gone too, but he was swift and he got a few blond hair before I ducked his first attack.  I punched his abdomen and felt immediate pain irradiate through my arm.  Fucking metal trash.  I stood up and back away as he tried to swipe his knife at me, bumping into the rail.  I looked quickly behind and saw a thirty-two feet fall waiting for me.  I turned back to my enemy and when he tried to stab me in the chest, I took his arm, disarmed him quickly, breaking his other arm in the process and used his momentum to throw him over the rail.  I didn’t wait for him to touch the ground and ran through the door to the second floor.

            “Shit!”  I heard someone curse in the intercom.

            There was an explosion and the intercom screeched for a second before going silent.  It had been Liao’s voice.  Gabriel started yelling his name, but his communication wasn’t working.  I got to Gabriel, surrounded by three Bastion farther in the hallway.  Without thinking, I shot them and got one before the others turned on me.  Gabriel, noticing me, turned toward a Bastion and shot him at blank point.  I destroyed the last one and without talking, we ran toward the three heat signatures at the end of the hall.

            When we got there, metal scraps were scattered all around a big hole in the wall.  Blood was splattered on the walls and I could see bits and pieces of Liao.  Trap bomb.  Idiot.  I looked up at the three hostages, tied to metal chairs, blood all over them.  I hoped it was only Liao’s.  Their eyes were wide, mad.  Gabriel yelled something, but it was too late.  Omnics were behind them, guns in hand and I only heard the sound of the guns in the sudden silent air.  Everything around us glitched and vanished and I took off my helmet, only to find the others, panting and grunting, getting up from their respective seats.

            I looked to my left, but Liao’s seat was empty and I saw him pacing the room, anger in his eyes, his hands balled up into fists.  A hot feeling built in my chest, my muscles ready to fight.  I stood up, ready to punch him when I saw Ana coming my way.  She seemed still a little confused and lost, but she was okay.  Before she could arrive, she was stopped by Gabriel, passing between us like a fury, only to leave the room without a word.  I looked at Ana and she shook her head.  He surely didn’t want me around right now.  We had all failed to trust him.  I had failed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put this chapter in less than a week! Maybe it won't be that way every time ^^''. Anyway, thanks for reading!! :)


	3. Stuck

            Two weeks passed.  Two weeks of training.  Two weeks of perpetual failure.  We never achieved cohesion, always going our own way, thinking we knew better.  It was painful to watch, and I had my part in all of this too.  I wasn’t as perfect as I thought.  The team’s mood was at its lowest, members doing reckless things during VR sessions and even fights breakout during physical training.  We soon became a subject of shame in the complex.

            We were all in our separate bubble, thinking selfishly that we had the better idea, that we would make it work on our own.  I knew that, because the thought had crossed my mind more than once.  I tried once or twice to assume leadership, but both times, Gabriel shut me down violently and barked his orders, not letting anyone give his opinion.  We passed a long time in the VR room.

            I had tried to go to the gym as often as I could, but now, I was avoiding it.  The soldiers were always glancing at me, whispering, even sneering sometimes, or they would ‘accidentally’ bump into me, or shoot my things away.  It was like I was back in high school.  But I didn’t react.  I think I could understand them.  We were failing in their expectations.  They had put so many hopes and dreams in us and in result, they got a bunch of dickheads unable to work together.  Even if I disapproved their methods, I couldn’t blame them for being bitter.

            The worst of all?  Gabriel.  Since that first training, he was avoiding me at all times.  It had come to the point where if I wanted to enter a room he was in, he would find an excuse to get out.  I tried to corner him once or twice, but the only thing I achieved was close him more.  Everything was falling apart and it looked like I couldn’t do anything to prevent it.  But I had to, didn’t I?  We were supposed to save mankind after all.  Be the heroes our world needed.  But right now, we were far from that goal.

*

            It was Wednesday.  I opened my eyes, the room dark, my clothes scattered next to the bed, empty bags of snacks lying around, the curtains drawn, but still, small beams of light passed under it to create small rainbows on the floor.  I sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling, my brain conflicted about ever getting up.  I had never been so demotivated when I was in the SEP.  Every day was a new adventure, a new challenge.  Here…Well let’s say I wasn’t eager to see anyone.

            I didn’t have training today, because of my weekly dose of serums I received yesterday and, like in the SEP, we needed a day off for the serums to work, but surprisingly, having a day off didn’t brighten my day.  I turned in my bed a little longer before I finally forced myself to get up.  I was about to get dressed when I heard a soft knock on my door.

            Surprised, I went to open it, only to find myself in front of a smiling Ana.  I took a step back in surprise.  I had hoped it would have been someone else.  I put a fake smile on my face and asked her politely what she was doing here.

            “Quit the mimic, Jack.”  She snapped, rolling her eyes.  “I know you were expecting someone else.”  Her eyes shone with malice for a less than a heartbeat.  My heart skipped a beat and my cheeks flushed.  I stuttered something, but Ana cut me.  “But that’s not why I am here anyway.  I wanted to take you for a tour.”

            She smiled broadly, like it was the most natural thing to ask to a soldier in a secret military base.  I couldn’t resist the urge to grin. It was totally unexpected and I think right now, I needed it.

            “There is someone I want you to meet.”  She added, her eyes darkening briefly.

            I asked her to wait for me to change myself into a decent uniform.  She sighed exaggeratedly, rolling her eyes again and cursing about boys and their clothes.  I laughed.  It felt nice and liberating.  Since our first day here, Ana had always been the only one that stood by me, tried to help me gather our clique and form a team.  She was the only one I was talking to outside of the training.

            I changed quickly and followed her into the complex.  The sky outside was blue, sprinkled with grey clouds here and there.  As we made our way through the West Wing and the Main one, we passed soldiers, politicians, ambassadors and bodyguards, all of them sneak peeking when they thought we couldn’t spot them.  My shoulders sagged a little more every time I caught someone doing this.  But Ana didn’t seem to care.  She was walking martially, like nothing could bother her, her chin high, her eyes focusing on an invisible point in front of her.  Even if I was taller than her, I felt so small next to her.  As I was trying to sink into the floor, she seemed to be trying to reach for the sky.

            We finally got to the East Wing.  I had never been here before and was surprised to discover it was totally different from the West.  Soldiers were patrolling, sure, but there were civilians here.  Families mostly.  I dodged three kids running toward us, playing cat and mouse.  They were laughing.  Farther, two teenagers were arguing about something, and their parents were trying to split them.  We passed in front of a window overlooking a vast green area, full of plants and trees, like an interior park.  People were taking a walk, lovers holding hands, kissing on the benches, kids playing in the trees and even joggers.  It was so surreal that I stopped and looked at Ana, wide eyed, totally in shock.

            “What is this place?”  I asked her, still not believing what was in front of me.

            “This base has been built after the beginning of the war, to offer a shelter to war victims as well as a military base for the UN.  It’s located in Greenland, in a snow desert.  Almost impossible for the Omnics to track it or to come here without being noticed way before their arrival.  Do you remember the contract we signed?  We could come here with our families and relatives.  It’s a safe place.”

            “So everyone can come here?  We could protect everyone?”  I asked, still not believing what was in front of me.

            “Unfortunately no.”  Said a voice behind me.

            I turned to see Gabrielle Adawe, standing in the hallway, looking at us, a pad stuck between her arm and her chest, half-moon glasses on the tip of her nose.  She looked back and forth between Ana and me.

            “What do you mean?”  I replied.

            “We don’t have the resources to bring everybody here.”

            “You mean only the people who can afford it can come.”  I cut.  Her eyes dropped for a second.

            “If you’re searching for your daughter, I saw her going upstairs toward the dome.  If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend.”

            She didn’t wait for us to answer and passed between us in a rush.  I felt kind of bad for her.  She didn’t seem like the cold-hearted woman I had met my first day here.  Even if I wasn’t agreeing with what they were doing, I could see she wasn’t happy with it as well.  I turned to Ana and she led us up toward the dome.  We still met other people here, but as we climbed, they became fewer and fewer.  They barely glanced our way.  For once, I felt like they didn’t give a fuck about me and I was glad of it.

            Ana opened a double door and we found ourselves into what Adawe had called ‘the dome’.  Like the name suggested, it was a dome, no surprises here.  But I thought it would be a glass dome displaying the outside, but instead of glass, there were screens all over the place, covering every inch of the room except the floor.  Near the door, there was a command panel, with different names on it and even a search bar.  The screens were brightly lit, surrounding us with a jungle landscape, trees rising far above us, plants all around, the sun shining far up into a cloudless sky, green light pouring down through the leaves.  Millions of sounds were echoing in the room, from the low slithering of a snake to the loud calls of monkeys or birds.  It seemed like I had passed a door into another world, far from the one I lived in, away from the war.

            In the middle of the room, in one of the few seats spread around, was seated a little girl, whose head was moving frantically around, like she was trying to see everything at once.  She was talking to a woman seating next to her with really short blond hair.  It was cut strangely, some parts longer than others, creating some sort of beautiful mess of it all.  She must have cut it herself, at least I hoped for her, or else I wouldn’t go to that hairdresser anytime soon.

            When she noticed us, the little girl screeched gleefully and ran toward us, as the woman turned her head and smiled, visibly glad to see Ana.  She then noticed me standing awkwardly next to Ana and she knitted her eyebrows, visibly surprised to see me.  But she rose from her seat and followed the little girl nonetheless.

“Happy to see you here, Ana.”  She said, her voice calm and with the same accent as Ana.  “Fareeha has been way too excited since this morning.”  She added, smirking at the little girl, who stuck out her tongue at her.

            “Is that right, Fareeha?”  Asked Ana, feigning shock.

            “No, mom!”  Quickly answered Fareeha, visibly worried her mom would think she was a bad kid.  Ana dashed toward her daughter, caught her under the armpits and lifted her, making the little girl giggle.

            They played together for a moment before Ana seemed to suddenly remember I was here.  She turned toward me, taking her daughter’s hand and made the presentations.

            “Fareeha?  I want you to meet Jack.  He’s a friend of mine.  He’ll come here a few times if you’re okay.”

            Fareeha looked at me like she was trying to evaluate if I would make any competition for her mother’s attention or not. I didn’t know why, but I felt really nervous, being scanned like that by a six year old girl.  After a second, she seemed happy with her conclusion and smiled at me.

            “Hello, Jack.”  She said simply.

            “Hi, Fareeha.  Pleased to meet you.”  I said, bowing in front of her and taking her small hand in mine, kissing it.  She giggled but didn’t took her hand back.

            I straightened to look at Ana and the other woman, who were exchanging looks.  I introduced myself to the woman, who was called Isis.  After another scanning moment, she finally smiled at me.

            “I assume you are a friend of Ana?”  I said.

            “Her sister, to be precise.”  I looked at Ana.  She didn’t show any surprise or anything.

            “There’s only the both of you here?”

            “Our family thought it wasn’t safe to trust the UN.  They stayed in Egypt.”

            Fareeha spoke in Egyptian and her mother took her in her arms.  She wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and laid her head on her shoulder.

            “Don’t you think you’re a bit old for that, pumpkin?”   Ana teased her.  Fareeha shook her head, a broad smile on her face.  “You want to show Jack what you’ve been up to this morning?”  She added.  The little girl smiled wide and jumped from her mother’s arms, taking my hand and leading me toward the command panel.

            “Look, Jack.  Here, you can choose where you want to go.”  She was fluent in English, but her dictation was still hesitant sometimes.  She pressed on the screen.  “You can go anywhere!”  The landscape around us changed from the jungle to a desert, dunes of sand in all directions, the sound of wind passing by, sand flying around lazily.

            She pressed somewhere else and we found ourselves in a crowded place, skyscrapers rising everywhere, people passing by, chatting on their phones or in person, children with their parents, lovers holding hands.  We were in New York.  Fareeha ran around, giggling and pointing at everything, asking all of us to watch.  It went on like this for an hour, Fareeha changing the view and running around, while asking us every sort of questions about what she was seeing.  We all played along, as she invented stories about those places.  Listening to her, you could think the whole world was a magical mystery.

            “Fareeha.”  Ana called after the tenth or so landscape.  “I think you spent enough time there.  You should go back to study.”  The little girl tried to protest, but the look in her mother’s eyes didn’t seem to accept any protestation.  Her eyes dropped and she mumbled an agreement.  “Say goodbye to Jack.”  Fareeha came to me and hugged me briefly, before Isis took her hand, smiled to me politely and they both left.

            “She looks like a good girl.”  That was lame, but I didn’t know what to say.

            “Yes, she is.”  She turned to me.  “Jack…I know it’s maybe too soon to tell you this, but I can’t let anything happen to her.  I want you to take care of her if anything happened to me and Isis.”  She locked her eyes to mine and there was so much intensity in it that the only thing I could do was nod.  She seemed to relax and turned her gaze to the door.  “I hope it won’t have to come to this.”

            “I hope too.”  I replied, my throat suddenly dry.

*

            I decided to go to the gym.  It had been at least three days since I went last, but I needed it.  I had to pass my nerves on something and hitting the gym had always helped.  I couldn’t believe Ana would ask me to watch over her daughter.  We met literally two weeks ago.  I barely even knew her.  It wasn’t that she couldn’t rely on me, but I couldn’t help but be angry at the world.  This war, to be precise.  During war times, life was so unsure that you would let almost strangers take care of your kids.  I really needed

            The room was gigantic, with gears and stuff everywhere.  There was even a ring and I knew there was a pool in an adjacent room.  Now that I had seen the East Wing, I was wondering how big this facility was and the cost of all of this.  People would have to ruin themselves to get a place here.

            Soldiers were training and chatting, most of them men, but I spotted a few women also, although they were outnumbered.  I would catch men staring at them from time to time and roll my eyes.  They were clichés.

            Nobody noticed me at first, and I got to a corner of the room without everyone staring.  I put down my training mat and started to stretch.  I tried to empty my head and focus on the training, but every time, an idea, a thought, would creep back in and I would grit my teeth, doing my best to get rid of it.  I didn’t want to think.

            It had been almost five minutes before Gabriel showed up.  I knew it was him before looking up, because every sound in the room was gone in a second.  I turned to observe him as he walked toward the weights, staring straight ahead, like he was trying to get rid of the world around him.  I stiffened, waiting for him to notice me and get out, like he had done for the past few days, but he didn’t turn toward me once, his eyes fixed on a point in front of him.  Maybe he didn’t see me.  He stood in front of the weights and started stretching too.  I looked at him from my corner and I could feel the tension growing in the room.  Any moment now, something was bound to happen.

            “Still no progress, huh?”  A big man said, rising from his place and walking toward Gabriel. He was almost bald, his muscles showing through the fabric of his shirt, sweat marks showing from his armpits and crotch.  Gabriel didn’t react.  “I’m talking to you, Reyes.”  The giant continued, his voice menacing.  “It’s been two weeks already and you still can’t handle a team.”  He sneered and the others followed.

            At last, Gabriel turned toward him, his face blank, unreadable, but I knew him enough to see his nails biting into his palm.  Why wouldn’t he react?  He was standing there, looking up at the man, not saying a word, like he was used to it.  Was he really?

            “Did your toy boy finally get your tongue?”  The giant said.  “Maybe that’s it.  You never had what it takes to be a good leader, a real soldier.  Maybe it’s because you like to screw him. We all knew it back there.  You two were always glued together.  It was gross to witness.  I still don’t get what everyone found in this stupid Golden Boy.  He’s just a kid with a big mouth.  But maybe you like it.”  And suddenly it hit me.  I knew that guy.  He had been in the SEP with us.  His name was Liam.  He had always been a jerk.  He was never the best, nor the most brilliant, but he was big and strong and that was what the SEP needed.  I thought he had died in the attack, but visibly stupidity dies hard.

            After another second, my brain finally caught up to what he said.  Screwing the Golden boy?  Was he talking about me?  I looked at Gabriel and saw him gritting his teeth, drops of blood staining his fingers. One drop fell to the ground silently.  His hand started to shake slightly, but if he noticed, he didn’t let it on.

            “Faggot.”  He spat at Gabriel, like it was the most insulting word he could think of.  My whole body tensed.  “That’s what you are.  A big, shitty, faggot.”

            “Hey, fatty.”  I said, walking rapidly toward Liam, my hands clenched into fists, a dangerous warmth spreading through my body.  Maybe Gabriel was going to let himself be humiliated like this, but I wouldn’t let this happen.  Even if he was avoiding me, he was still my friend and commander.  If Liam wanted to humiliate him, he was humiliating me too.  “Over there.”  Faggot.  He said the word.  It had been so long since I had last heard it.  And it hadn’t been in a joke.  I gritted my teeth, trying to control myself, but I could feel my mind racing, anticipating a potential fight and how I would humiliate him, crush him, and make him suffer.

            Liam turned toward me and I swear I saw a spark of fear in his eyes.  But it disappeared quickly, replaced by a smirk.  He crossed his arms over his oversized chest and watched me come.  Gabriel, looking in my direction for the first time, drained of color.  His eyes were begging me to go back but I didn’t care.

            “And here comes the rescue.”  Liam laughed.  “You want to get fucked by me too, faggot?”  He said.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  Did he just called _me_ faggot?  Relax, Jack.  You know that fighting him would only make it worse.  It wouldn’t help.  But my body was ready to throw a punch, the desire building in me.

            “Not sure I would feel anything.”  I snapped, before looking around.  Cowards.  Or they were sneering, or they were looking away, but none of them wanted to take part to this.  “Anyway, that would make you a faggot too, wouldn’t it?”

            “Who said I would let you touch my dick?”  He made a step toward me.

            “You have one?”

            “You…”  Before he could finish, I threw my fist and it connected with his jaw, sending his head back, his body tensing.  He looked down on me, massaging his jaw.  “Not bad for a _faggot_.”

            I threw another punch, but he blocked it, taking my fist in his palm, crushing it slowly, deliberately.  I groaned and stomped his foot, my hand suddenly free.  I shook my fist, pressing it against my chest.  A fist connected with my sternum, making me gasp for air as I fell to the ground.  He grunted as he tried to kick me with his foot, but I rolled out of reach, and stood up quickly, still trying to catch my breath.

            “That’s all Overwatch members are capable of?  You’re a joke, Morrison.”  Everyone kept pretending to be busy, while peeking in our direction from time to time.  I wanted to scream at them.  But I couldn’t let my guard down.  He was stronger than me.  One more punch and I wouldn’t be sure to get up.

            He came at me, his fist raised and I sidestepped, trying to punch him in the ribs, but he moved quickly out of the way.  I wouldn’t have thought such a big guy could move so fast.  Thanks SEP serums.  I faked a kick in the knee and when he started to move his leg out of the way, I quickly changed my angle, kicking his leg just under the ankle with my foot, making him lose his balance and fall backward.  He put his other foot behind to stabilize himself, but before he could react, I jumped on him and punched his nose.  It cracked under my knuckles and blood spilled.

            We fell with a thud and, before I could punch him again, someone took me by the armpits and forced me on my feet.  I tried to struggle but Gabriel’s voice told me to stop.  I turned and he was looking at me his eyes unreadable.  I turned to Liam, three people by his side, asking how he was feeling.  He cursed and insulted me, but he stayed down.  After a moment, I started to relax in Gabriel’s arms and he let me go, before taking his things.  I tried to call his name, but he didn’t look back as he passed the door.  What had I done?

*

            I wasn’t sure I was going to go to the cafeteria that evening.  What I was sure that by now was that everyone knew about my little stunt.  I was surprised I wasn’t already fired or imprisoned.  Maybe they were waiting for me next to the cafeteria.  I didn’t want to go there, but my stomach had a different opinion.

            Nobody was waiting for me or stopped me on my way to dinner, but when I entered the place, every conversation stopped.  I was living what Gabe had lived this afternoon.  I did as he did and took a plate, served myself and went to sit at our table, opposing Gabe, Ana at my left and Torbjörn at my right.  I ate like nothing special was happening and, slowly, everyone started to move again, like time was resuming and taking its sweet time.

            “Why would you make a scene like that, Jack?”  Ana whispered to me when the conversations were drowning her voice.  I raised an eyebrow.  “You shouldn’t have fought that guy.”  She seemed upset and distrust and I had to bite back what I was about to say.

            “You weren’t there.”  I snapped, trying to remain as calm as possible.

            “I didn’t have to.  Everyone only talks about it.  And in details.”

            “Maybe they will leave us alone, then.”

            “Maybe.  But that’s not the point.”

            “I knew that guy.  He wouldn’t have listened to anything else.”

            “Still, you shouldn’t have hit him.  If it wasn’t for…”

            “I’m a soldier Ana, I’m not supposed to do peaceful things.”  I cut her.  I was bitter, because I thought she would be on my side and I could see she was right, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it.  I glanced toward the other end of the table and saw Gabriel staring at me.  He was just staring, his mouth a thin line.  I would have sworn I caught a glimpse of a grin on his face.  But it was gone so quickly I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure.  “I’ll accept what comes my way.”  I finally said to Ana.  “I’ll take the blame.”

            “You won’t have to.”  She replied.  I stiffened.  “Right after the ‘incident’, Reyes went to see Adawe and pleaded for you.  From what I heard, she gave you a free pass for this time.”  She rolled her eyes.  It was her thing.

            Wide eyed, I turned back to Gabe.  He had crossed his arms over his chest and was scanning the room.  He had defended me?  What was wrong with him?  First he wasn’t talking to me, ignoring me completely, shutting me off, and then he was defending me, making sure I wouldn’t end up in any trouble.  What sort of game was he playing? What was going on inside that little head of his?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me some time to finish this one. I had to rewrite at least half of it ^^''. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!! :D


	4. Friends and family

            The rest of the week passed and Monday came, after a long week-end, bringing the sun with it.  It also brought a new week of training.  Since the incident in the gym, I tried my best to bring the team together, while keeping a profile as low as possible.  Adawe had given me a free pass, but I was sure she didn’t do it from the goodness of her heart.  She wasn’t heartless, but I could sense she wanted something in return.  She wanted results.

            I also went to see Fareeha almost every day, playing with her in the dome, and running around in the interior park.  We even went out one day, playing in the snow, building snowmen, and snowball fighting.  I got the chance to get to know the little girl better, as well as Ana’s sister.  She had studied mathematics and had been about to get her PhD when the war broke out.  She had been fleeing from town to town with Fareeha, until Ana was called here and they all came.  She had time now to finish her thesis.

            I woke up early this morning and, unable to fall back to sleep, I decided to go to the gym.  The digital clock on my nightstand informed me it was four-thirty.  I gathered my things and got dressed, before walking out of the dark room.

            On my way to the gym, I gazed at the moon still high up in the sky and wondered how I ended up here and now.  I first enlisted in the army to get some experience, change my lifestyle a bit and, most of all, to get away.  I loved my family, but I couldn’t stay.  I couldn’t bare the looks of curiosity, disgust or even repulsion I got from the other boys.  At night, I would lie down in the fields, looking up at the sky, cursing at the stars, screaming my pain, until all I could feel was the numbness that came after the tears.  I wanted to find my place, to be myself.  When I got the possibility, I ran away.

            Later, I met Gabriel.  At first, he seemed grumpy and close minded.  But as we were forced to team up for missions I learned he had some sense of humor and a flirty attitude, as well as an edginess that made me roll my eyes more than once.  But I grew to like him and I anticipated every mission and moment I could pass with him.  And then, the Omnics attacked, and here we were, not talking, avoiding each other.  It was like I had to start all over again.

            I finally got to the gym, opening the door, almost throwing my bag in a corner.  I was alone and I welcomed the silence.  It was so different from the SEP.  I would have never been able to have a moment of solitude if I wasn’t in my room back there.  Unlike here.  I began my workout, losing myself in the stretching of the muscles, the heat building in me, the feeling of freedom training had always given me.

            After almost thirty minutes, the door slid slowly open.  Surprised, I grabbed the towel that was on my head, already wet, and turned, only to freeze right where I was.  It was Gabriel.  Why was it always him?  Did he have like a superpower or something that could tell him when I was least expecting him?  Did he do this on purpose, just to mess with me?  If it was, that wasn’t funny.  At all.

            We both stood in silence, his hand still on the doorframe, mine gripping the towel.  We must have looked pretty dumb like this, but I didn’t want to make the first move.  Not this time.  I was tired of begging him to talk to me.  If he wanted to leave, I didn’t think I would have stopped him.  The now familiar pain in my chest made me clench my teeth.  Gabriel stared at my hand, still gripping the wet towel, then back at my eyes.  He seemed lost, I would even have said afraid.  Afraid of what?  Of me?  The idea made me want to laugh.  What kind of predator was I?

            My whole body wanted to stand up and run at him, comfort him, do something to make the pain in his eyes go away, but I willed myself to stay still.  Let him taste a bit of what he did to me those three weeks.  Bitterness was on my tongue, my heart reaching for him inside me, but I stood as still as a statue, my eyes fixed on his.

            “Hi, Jack.”  He said finally, his voice merely audible, his eyes dropping suddenly to the floor.  I saw his hand try to wave, but he abandoned the idea quickly when he looked up at me.  ‘Hi, Jack’?  Was that it?  Was it the best he could come up with after three weeks of total ignorance, pushing away, even when I fought for him?  A simple greeting?  Who was he kidding for fuck’s sake?

            The pain in my heart morphed, the cold feeling replaced by a warmth that was rapidly spreading through my body.  I began to shake as he walked toward me, one hand fumbling with the cords of his hoodie while the other was tapping frantically on his thigh.  Before he could stop in front of me, I made a step toward him and punched him in the jaw.  He staggered sideway, but found his balance and looked back at me, that pitiful look still on his face.  I couldn’t bear it.  I gritted my teeth and punched him one more time.  He didn’t react, straightened again, silent, his nose bleeding, visibly waiting for the next punch.  My blood was boiling in my veins.

            “Hi, Jack?”  I finally screamed as I punched him again.  “Is that all you have to say?”  I punched him again, sending him to the floor and I followed him, locking my legs around his torso, standing on top of him, my fists raised.  “You avoid me like I had the plague for THREE WEEKS and you think you can come back like nothing happened?  Who do you think you’re kidding?”  I punched him again and he didn’t react.  Three weeks of repressed anger, fear, loneliness and worry all came back to the surface at the same time.

            I began to cry, but I kept punching him, in the face, in the chest, slamming both of my fists on him, my punches getting weaker and weaker as my sobs became stronger.  Flashes of Rey’s and Alice’s face passed in my mind, of all the happy moments, mixing with the horrible vision of their bloody bodies, their blood mixing, like one last attempt at being together.  They had been my friends and I had lost them.  Gabriel was the only think I had now.  He was my only link to the past, the only one who knew me and I was terrified of losing him.  The warm feeling in my chest receded slowly, giving way for the cold feeling that had been haunting me the past weeks, that feeling of loneliness and rejection that had been there when my best friend abandoned me.  I kept crying, the sobs shaking me to the core.  It took me some time to notice that I wasn’t hitting him anymore, but clinging to his shirt instead, like it was a lifeline, my head bowed on his chest, tears damping his shirt.

            “It’s okay, Jackie.  It’s okay.”  He whispered to me.  “You are right to be mad at me.  I was a total jerk to you.  I’m sorry.”  His hand started to brush on my back, soothing me.

            “I thought we were supposed to be friends!”  I spat, but my voice was hoarse, weak, every trace of anger almost gone.  “We were supposed to be there for each other!  You promised me that day, Gabe!”

            We both stayed silent for a while, me still weeping on his shirt, him looking stunned, like I had just announced him I was pregnant.  Not that it could happen.  I could feel his chest heaving up and down, its rhythm steady.  I slowly became aware that I was on top of him, my legs on either side of his waist, his body warm under mine, his skin soft under my fingers, where I had torn his shirt.  The situation dawned on me and I stiffened.

            “I’m sorry.”  He said in a raspy voice, his eyes trying to meet mine, but I kept looking away.

            “Stop saying that.”  I replied, still not looking at him.  I didn’t want to look at him, to let the feeling overwhelm me.  He was my friend.  He was my best friend, for God’s sake.  He rejected me.  I _had_ to be mad at him.  “I won’t forgive you that easily.”

            It wasn’t the first time we fought, and it wouldn’t be the last time.  Back in the SEP, when he was still distant and too edgy, we used to fight to solve our problems.  It was our way to take out all the buried feeling.  I wasn’t proud of it or anything, but right now, I felt relieved and still kind of mad.  He had promised me we wouldn’t turn on each other, that we would always be a team.  That we would always be friends.  All those weeks, I thought that promise had meant nothing to me.  I finally stared into his eyes, and all I gathered was his silent apologies.  It felt like cheating to excuse him so easily

            “I don’t know what to tell you, Jackie.  I’m a douche.  You know I’ve always been.”

            “Shut up.”  I snapped, anger building back in my stomach.  I clang to that feeling, like my life depended on it.  “I don’t want to hear you pity yourself.”  I got up and started walking away.  He didn’t try to stop me.  “I’ll see you later.”  I added, mocking the way he had pushed me away two weeks ago.

*

            I got to the cafeteria three hours later and sat at ‘our’ table.  Nobody ever sat there except Overwatch members so it had become our table.  I feared it wasn’t out of respect for us.  As I made my way to it, I caught people glancing at me, whispering as I passed between them.  It was like this since I fought with Liam

            As I reached the table, my eyes wandered for a moment at everyone already seated.  When I saw Gabriel motion himself to the side, showing me an empty chair next to him, I deliberately sat between Ana and Reinhardt, putting my plate down with a loud thud.  Ana raised an eyebrow and I could feel eyes looking at me.

            “Good morning, Jack.”  Reinhardt greeted me with a broad smile, as if everything was perfectly normal.  I wondered if anything could bring that smile down.

            “Good morning, to you too, Reinhardt.”  I replied, trying to smile as wide as him, but it came crooked and Reinhardt made fun of me. I relaxed a bit.

            I looked sideway at Gabriel and saw that he was grinning at me.  The brat.  I wanted to stick my tongue out to him, but it would make him way too happy, so I simply ignored him.  He couldn’t just come back, apologize and hope for everything to go back to normal.  He couldn’t, right?

            For the first time in three weeks, it was like no one was frowning or being grumpy or isolating himself.  I didn’t know what was causing that change, but it was welcome.  For the first time, I could almost imagine us as a team.

            After we all finished eating, we gathered and went straight to the training room in the main building.  Today was physical training.  Ms. Arlington was already there, pacing the room as soldiers came and go around her.  When she spotted us, she lifted her hand up, ordering us to come closer.  We followed her to a corner of the room with a small ring.  She jumped over the ropes and turned back to stare at us.

            “Today will be about hand fighting.  You’ll be in teams of two and fight each other.  Simple, huh?  The key word here is cooperation.  Since you seem to lack any sense of teamwork, I decided it would be a good idea to force your hand.  Maybe you’ll prove to be less pathetic, huh?”  We all stood in line, as straight as possible, and she made three teams of two.  Ana was with Reinhardt, Torbjörn with Gabriel and I ended up with Liao.  I turned to him, tried to smile, but only received a raised eyebrow in response.

            “Don’t make me lose.”  He just said, before turning away from me.  I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look at me.  I wasn’t in the mood right now.

            “Where do you think you’re going?”  I said, my voice tensed.  I wasn’t going to let him get away that easy.  Gabriel had opened the valve that morning and I had to let all my anger out and Liao didn’t choose the right time to be a jerk.  “We’re a team and you’re gonna work with me.  Not alone.  With me.”

            Liao looked at me and rolled his eyes.  “Fine.”  He said.  I wanted to smack him but refrained the urge.  It wouldn’t help me and Arlington was looking at us, while the others were stretching and preparing themselves.  I could see a flicker of a smile on her lips.  She definitely did it on purpose.  I turned back toward Liao.

            “Don’t ‘Fine’, me.  I’m not your father and I’m not your teacher or anything.  I’m your partner.”

            “What do you want from me?”  He said, visibly annoyed, now.  He tried to free his shoulder, but I just increased the pressure.

            “I want you to talk to me.  Why are you acting like this all the time?”  I didn’t mean to be so direct, but I had ran out of patience.

            “Why would I tell you, Golden Boy?”  He snapped.  “It’s not like you cared.”  Don’t punch him, Jack.  Don’t punch him.  He’s not Gabriel.  He won’t heal easily from it.  Don’t punch him.  Even if he acts like a child, don’t hit him.

            “Maybe if you weren’t acting like a spoiled kid, I would give a damn.”  I said between my teeth, my cheeks beginning to flush.

            He looked at me, shocked.  What?  Didn’t he noticed he was acting like that?  Calm down, Jack.  He’s your partner, you said it yourself.  Don’t make a scene right now.

            “Okay.  You know what?  If you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay, but didn’t you hear the rumors?  Didn’t you look at the other soldiers?  They’re trashing us.  Do you really want to prove them right?”  He looked at me for a moment, his eyes scanning me up and down and I didn’t move, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to look impressive.  It surely didn’t work.

            “Fine.”  He said again, but this time, he seemed more convinced.  He lifted his arms, like he was surrendering.  “Let’s do this.”  The left corner of his lips started to rise and I sighed, maybe too heavily.

            We stretched before taking stances in front of each other.  If we wanted to fight with one another, we had to know the other fighting’s style.  We looked at each other for a moment, taking in as many information as possible.  He was thin, but visibly faster than he seemed.  His movements were fluid, his feet silent on the soft floor.  My muscles tensed, readying for the fight.  We turned around each other for a second, before I saw his left arm lower just a little and launched myself at him, trying to tackle him before he could do anything.  I realized too late that he had been baiting me.  He lifted his left arm suddenly, elbow out, and dropped it on my back as I collided with him.  I fell to the floor, all the air leaving my lungs.

            “Too predictable.”  He simply said and I could tell he was grinning from the tone of his voice.

            “Again.”  I grumbled and stood up.  We did this a few times, testing each other, trying to learn from one another.  It felt good to fight like that. My head was clearing and I could just forget about my problems and focus on the fight.  And he was a good fighter too.  I was bulkier and maybe a bit faster than him, but he seemed to know how to bait me almost every time, teasing me, forcing me to make a mistake.  It looked like he knew he couldn’t win in a front assault and was using every way he knew to turn my own strength against me.  But he was reckless sometimes and I got the upper hand as much as he did.

            After a moment, Arlington called us all and we went back toward the ring, standing in line again.  “First, Morrison and Liao, against Amari and Wilhelm.” 

            The four of us climbed on the ring, Reinhardt with some difficulty and took place on the marks of tapes Arlington put down.  Gabriel and Torbjörn went to sit in a corner, Gabriel smiling at me, like he wanted to encourage me.  I forced myself to ignore him.  I still had to resent him.

            Liao and I placed ourselves in front of Ana and Reinhardt and Arlington whistled.  Ana darted toward us, her head low, her arms hanging by her sides, as Reinhardt took place behind her.  What were they planning?

            “I take her.”  Liao said before rushing to meet Ana.  I saw a mischievous smile appear on her face and knew it was a trap.  I didn’t have time to warn Liao.  But I couldn’t let him get caught.  I darted after him as he was about to tackle Ana.  She sidestepped at the last moment and he found himself in front of Reinhardt, as she was turning on him, suddenly behind his back.  Good tactic, I thought.  Ana wasn’t that strong, she couldn’t fight face to face.  It was one of the reasons she was a sniper.  But I was ready and before she could see what was happening, I tackled her and we barreled forward, rolling for a few feet.

            Liao turned quickly to look at me.  I yelled at him to look in front of him and he nodded, turning to Reinhardt who was beaming.  He seemed to like what was happening.  Ana and I were fighting on the ground, trying to get on top of one another, but every time I thought I had her, she just slipped between my arms and found a way to escape.  Liao grunted and Reinhardt laughed as we all fought.  I wanted to go help Liao, but if I couldn’t block Ana, I wouldn’t be able to help him.  He was maybe smart and fast, but there were limits to what he could do, and Reinhardt was one of them.

            I was getting tired and I hoped Ana too.  She kept fighting, but her movements became slower and less precise.  She couldn’t win an endurance fight.  I saw in her eyes she knew it, but she kept fighting.  I finally got a hold of her arm and twisted it just enough to make her stop twitching under me.  I glanced at Liao and saw him lying on the ground, face first, Reinhardt blocking him.  He looked at me and his eyes seemed to apologize.

            “Draw.”  Arlington shouted.  I got up and offered Ana a hand.  She took it and smiled at me as she stood up shaking the arm I had twisted, grimacing a bit.  Reinhardt came behind me and almost sent me flying when he patted my back.  I turned to him and shook his hand, praying he wouldn’t crush it.  He didn’t, thankfully.

            “You did well.”  I said as I turned to Liao, trying to be positive.

            “Don’t say that, Morrison.”  He replied, but I could see a grin form on his face.  “I almost made us lose from the beginning.”

            “Well…”  I said, rolling my eyes comically.  “You should stop rushing in like that.

            “Morrison, Liao, stay here.  You’ll fight the other two first.”  Arlington barked.  As she passed next to me, she smiled, bowing her head for a fraction of a second.

            I almost chuckled, went back to the tape mark, stretching a bit.  Ana had drained me.  I would certainly end up flat on the mat in a matter of seconds knowing Gabe was my opponent.  I looked up and caught him grinning at me, his eyes mischievous.  That look. I lov…hated it.  It was the look he was always giving me back in the SEP when I failed something, like he wanted to show me how superior he was.  I suddenly wanted to k…kill him.  Gosh what was happening to me?  I clenched and unclenched my fists, taking deep breaths.

            “Let’s crush them.”  I growled.  Liao looked at me for a second, then shrugged and positioned himself next to me.

            “Don’t underestimate the little man.”  Liao almost whispered.  “I saw him train.  He’s more dangerous than he seems.”

            I took a mental note of it, but I had eyes only for Gabriel.  Torbjörn wasn’t important to me right now.  All I wanted to do was to wash that grin of Gabe’s face.

            Arlington whistled and we began turning around each other, no one making the first move, scanning the opponents.  I peeked briefly at Liao and it seemed like he understood.  He let his left arm down slightly and I caught Gabriel’s eyes on him.  He launched himself at Liao and I stood still as I watched him fall into Liao’s trap.  But suddenly, Torbjörn appeared out of nowhere and pushed Gabriel to the side, so Liao’s elbow found nothing but air as it struck down.  Before I could react, Torbjörn was on me and I sidestepped quickly, losing my balance in the process and I couldn’t stop Gabriel from catching my collar and pressing all his weight on me.  We both fell and he blocked my wrists with his hands and my legs with his.  He was still grinning at me as I tried to free myself, but his hands were too strong, his hold too perfect.  I fought in vain for a moment, before finally giving up, wounded in my ego:  He bowed slightly, so his mouth was next to my ear.

            “Don’t think that because I let you beat me up this morning that it would always be like this.” He sneered.  “And beside…I always end up on top.”

            I felt myself blush and suddenly, my whole body went limp under him.  His grin widened and I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding against my ribcage.  The brat.  Liao was down too and Torbjörn held his arm twisted on his back.

            “Gabriel and Torbjörn win.”  I heard Arlington say.  Gabriel heaved himself up from me, but his grin was still on.

            “You know I won’t forgive you that easily.”  I mumbled.  “You’re just making it worse.”

            “Don’t lie to me Jack.  I know you like it when I roughen you up a bit.”  I stiffened and looked at him, trying to find some snarky comment to spit at him, but I couldn’t find anything, my mind going completely blank.  It was like Gabriel did a one-eighty in his personality.  Visibly, I wasn’t the only one who emptied himself this morning.  It was like the past three weeks never happened.  He was back to his old self, teasing me, making flirty or tendentious remarks, only to laugh at me, like he was doing right now.  I didn’t know if he was serious or not and that was frustrating me much more than it should have.

            I turned away from Gabriel and glanced at Liao.  “My fault this time.  I planned wrong.”  I apologized.  Liao suddenly smiled and went toward me, patting my shoulder.

            “Don’t care.”  He said.  “I had fun.”  His smile broadened and I felt pride building in my chest.  He was finally opening up.  We both went to sit while Reinhardt and Ana took our places on the mat.

            “I’m sorry.” I heard Liao tell me, too low for the others to hear.  What was it with the apologies today?  Everyone was apologizing to me.  “You were right.  I acted like a…douchebag?  Is that the word?” He looked at me and I could see in his dark eyes that he was genuinely trying to befriend me.  I couldn’t help but smile.

            “Yes.”  I answered.  “You were quite a douche.  But there’s still time to change things.”

            “You know…I didn’t chose to be here.”  I turned to him, raising an eyebrow, waiting for him to keep going.  “The UN didn’t choose us all only because we were the best.  They had to pick one from every continent.  And I was the one for Asia.”

            “And you’re not proud they chose you?”  I said, still not really getting where he was going.

            “At first, it really felt like it was a pity choice.  I thought they were doing this just not to piss off the Chinese Federation.”  He stopped, his fingers tapping on his knee.  He seemed kind of nervous and not really at ease opening up like that.  I patted him on the shoulder, but he didn’t look at me.  He looked straight ahead, where the others were fighting.  “When I met you guys, I thought I had to prove myself.”

            “To show you deserved to be there.”  I said simply, finally putting one and one together.

            “Something like that.”  He sighed and finally turned toward me.  “But when I saw, the other day in the gym, that you were all struggling as much as I was, and that you were not privileged or superior, that you were like me, it made me realize you weren’t that different from me.  And the way you defended Reyes, I liked that.  ”

            “Thanks…I guess.”  I shuffled my hair, not really knowing what to say.  I thought I had been pretty dumb that day, fighting with Liam like I was a teenager all over again. But it seemed to have shaken things up.  Gabriel was talking to me again — maybe even a little too much — and Liao was finally opening up.  I looked at Ana and Reinhardt, Torbjörn and Gabriel.  We were making it.  It took us three damn weeks, but we were slowly coming together.  I looked one more time at Ana and thought about Fareeha.  That’s what I wanted us to become.  More than a team.  I wanted us to be a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry it took so long for me to publish this chapter, but I had some personal issues to deal with and a lot of work, so I didn't have much time to write. Thank you anyway for reading and I will try to publish the fifth before the end of the week to try to make amend (I may not be able to do it in time, but I'll try my best). Hope you enjoyed!! :D

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to post a chapter a week, but it may sometimes take me more time to write and edit the text, so be patient. Thank you for reading!


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